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This is Volume One of The Army Air Forces in World War II, titled Plans and Early Operations, January 1939 to August 1942, edited by Wesley Frank Craven and James Lea Cate. The University of Chicago Press first published it in 1948, and the Office of Air Force History reprinted it in 1983. The front matter explains how the AAF historical program was set up during the war. The index covers Pacific, Atlantic and European operations, and nothing in the text concerns unidentified aerial phenomena.
“The Invaders”15 pages
T H E A R M Y A I R F O R C E S I N W O R L D W A R I 1 were instructed to take evasive action in order to avoid contact with Japanese air By the middle of October, General MacArthur had chartered two ships to transport aviation fuel to Rabaul, Port Moresby, and Darwin, and arrangements had been made for further shipment of fuel to these points from the United States. Since Wake and Midway still had sufficient supplies of fuel for ferrying purposes, the route was ready for more flights of heavy bombers. The 19th Group at Hamilton Field, California, was alerted on 16 October for its flight to the Philippines. Although depot overhaul of the twenty- six B-17’s delayed the departure of some of the planes, by the morning of 2 2 October the last of the aircraft had completed the flight to Hickam Field. Here the group was divided into several flights, since not all of the staging points were capable of accommodating twenty-six bombers at one time. The first flight took off from Hickam Field on 2 2 October. The entire movement was plagued by unfavorable weather and engine trouble, but within one week the first eight planes arrived at their final de~tination.’~By 6 November twenty-five B-17’s of the 19th Group had landed a t Clark Field; and the final plane, grounded at Darwin because of engine changes and weather, soon arrived safely.86 Possessing thirty-five heavy bombers and the promise of more, the air force in the Philippines now gave evidence of a vigorous determi- nation to protect American interests in the Far East. Further evidence came with the assignment of key personnel and additional units to the air force and with the reorganization of that force in an attempt to better its combat effectiveness. Maj. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton was sent from the United States to become General MacArthur’s air com- mander and to direct a reorganization which had been outlined during a series of conferences at AAF Headquarters in Washington. On 16 November the military air units in the Philippines, under General Brereton’s command, became the Far East Air Force, which included the V Bomber Command under Lt. Col. Eugene L. Eubank, the V Interceptor Command under Brig. Gen. Henry B. Clagett, and the Far East Air Service Command under Col. L.S. Churchill. Because of a shortage of experienced officers, only skeleton staffs could be pro- vided for the new units, but the War Department promised to send additional officers and enlisted men by the first available transport. The Interceptor Command was composed of the 24th Pursuit Group, whose pilots had received advanced training in pursuit tactics at I 8 2
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